Secondary defense responses of White spruce (Picea glauca) and arctic lupine (Lupinus arcticus) to changes in herbivory and soil nutrient concentrations ...
White spruce (Picea glauca, Voss) contains an antifeedant (camphor) which deters snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus Erxleben), a generalist herbivore, from feeding on it. Spruce was used as a model species to test the sometimes conflicting predictions of the Optimal Defense, and the Carbon: Nutrient B...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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University of British Columbia
2009
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0087634 https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0087634 |
| Summary: | White spruce (Picea glauca, Voss) contains an antifeedant (camphor) which deters snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus Erxleben), a generalist herbivore, from feeding on it. Spruce was used as a model species to test the sometimes conflicting predictions of the Optimal Defense, and the Carbon: Nutrient Balance (CNB) theories of plant defense. The Optimal Defense theory predicts that plants will produce inducible defenses, this concentration being a function of the intensity of herbivore attack, and soil fertility. The CNB theory predicts that changes to the carbon: nutrient ratio will alter the relative amount of available carbon in the plant, and thus, the amount of defensive investment. Twig samples of white spruce were collected from small (0.5-1 m tall), medium (2-3m), and large (6-10m) trees growing in areas which have had Herbivore Exclusion, Fertilization, and Herbivore Exclusion + Fertilization treatments for 9 years. Twig samples were also collected from a group of medium-sized trees on Control and ... |
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